Rick Allen: “I just wanted to finish right now with a couple of comparisons. The $80 million that Health and Human Services is going…”

“I just wanted to finish right now with a couple of comparisons. The $80 million that Health and Human Services is going to spend to advertise this law, which does not take effect until January 2006, and Secretary Thompson made it clear why he was doing it, he said because there is too much criticism of the law. People do not understand that it is really the same Medicare. Of course, the author of the law in the House was quoted on television as saying, ``To those who say this bill will destroy Medicare as we know it, my answer is, I certainly hope so.'' He has made it clear his goal is to destroy Medicare as we know it. But I wanted just to finish up with this: $80 million in advertising to the American people. $80 million. Guess how much the President proposes to cut out of rural health care? One-half that amount, $39 million. We cannot afford $39 million to improve rural health care, but we can spend $80 million just to advertise a flawed Medicare bill to the American public. The $80 million is more than the $58 million which the incoming FDA commissioner, Lester Crawford, says would be needed to establish a drug reimportation plan.”